ExpressTruckTax Blog

Friday, June 23, 2017

No matter which side of the ELD (Electronic Logging Device) mandate you currently stand on, you should brace yourself to comply with the compliance mandate on December 18th, 2017. OOIDA’s appeal has been rejected so it might be time to prepare your truck and fleet to comply.

OOIDA Isn’t Left With Many Options

OOIDA or the Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association has been trying to fight the DOT to put a stop to the ELD mandate for years now on the grounds that they violate the rights of drivers and their constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures because the rule fails to meet the congresses stipulation for the mandate.

However, the supreme court has refused to hear OOIDAs lawsuit appeal against the DOT rule that will require truckers to use ELDs to track hours of service. Therefore the December 18th, 2017 compliance deadline will remain intact for now.

Although, this doesn’t mean that OOIDA is giving up their fight. They will continue pushing the matter to Congress and the Trump Administration because they highly favor the 4th amendment which protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures.

A Little About The ELD Mandate…

To put it simply, an ELD is an electronic logging device that connects directly to a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) to record the driver’s hours of service. This will make it more difficult to bend the rules and go over the driving limit of 11 hours per day since paper logs and electronic driver logs can easily be faked.

The data that an ELD captures is from the engine including movement, the number of miles driven, location, and hours.

The potential benefits of ELDs for fleets include saving time and saving money as they reduce the amount of paperwork that will need to be processed by eliminating paper logs. However, the benefits for the entire trucking community include saving lives.

FMCSA the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimates that 26 lives will be saved and over 1,800 vehicle crashes will be prevented annually because ELDs will reduce driver fatigue by more heavily enforcing compliance to hours of service regulations.

However, many drivers have concerns about ELDs and do not want them. For example, will drivers and owners of smaller fleets be able to incur the costs of installing these devices in their vehicles?

Plus, they’ll be mounted on the dashboard, taking up valuable space and visibility. Will ELDs actually be dangerous by blocking a part of the driver’s view of the road? Also, will it be distracting?

One major concern is that ELDs will violate the driver’s privacy by recording their personal data. The guidelines as to what will protect the driver’s confidentiality when it comes to determining compliance with hours of service aren’t set in stone yet and that’s worrisome to a majority of drivers.

Are You Ready For The Mandate?

Whether you’re on board for ELDs or totally against them OOIDA has a tough fight ahead of them now. Even though they’ll continue fighting for the rights of truckers, the compliance deadline of December 18th will remain intact. Don’t let this deadline sneak up on you, be prepared to comply with the mandate.

For more trucking blogs visit ExpressTruckTax.com and please share your thoughts on the ELD mandate in the comment section below.